bolero Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 hey guys, I have a set of throbak SLE-101 pickups that I bought gold plated...they sound GREAT, but I've since sold the gtr I got them for want to put them in my H150....which has nickel hardware how hard is it to get the gold off the pup covers? I believe they are all nickel, underneath? thx!
barrymclark Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 I was thinking about that not long ago. I would take a buffing wheel to it. BUT.... I would honestly wait for more learned advice than mine on this matter.
tulk1 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 My '74LPC had gold "tone" everything. Just play the guitar for 30 years, it'll all come off by then. ......... The pickup covers are generally soldered on. Drimmel off the solder, put nickel covers on it. Or, you could write Jon Gundry (ThroBak) and ask if he'd replace the covers for you. Might be easier than trying to get the annodized gold layer off.
111518 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 My '74LPC had gold "tone" everything. Just play the guitar for 30 years, it'll all come off by then. ......... The pickup covers are generally soldered on. Drimmel off the solder, put nickel covers on it. Or, you could write Jon Gundry (ThroBak) and ask if he'd replace the covers for you. Might be easier than trying to get the annodized gold layer off.
111518 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Sorry, hit the wrong key. Just wanted to second Tulk's advice. I think it would be much easier to replace the covers than to try to buff out or chemically remove the gold plating.
GuitArtMan Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Don't Dremel the solder off!!! Get a solder wick or solder sucker and de-solder the covers the correct way.
tulk1 Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Don't Dremel the solder off!!! Get a solder wick or solder sucker and de-solder the covers the correct way. Much better. Yes, indeed. Same concept ... correct action.
Blunote Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 If you cannot get replacement covers, you should be able to find a business in the area that does nickel plating. Probably just quick acid wash and dunk in the nickel tub. Here in the rust belt, there's still a few plating operations in business. I"m sure some would be happy to do the job for not too much $.
GuitArtMan Posted April 29, 2010 Posted April 29, 2010 Much better. Yes, indeed. Same concept ... correct action. Funny story... As a young lad of 17 or 18 I decided I wanted the pickup covers removed from my Les Paul Custom. Being the early tinkerer I was (it's got me into trouble over the years) I decided to do it myself. Taking the pickups out of the body I noticed the solder blobs on the bottom holding the covers on. Not knowing a thing about soldering, solder wicks or solder suckers I figured "I can get this off". I searched the house for the "correct" tool and settled on... drum roll.... a kitchen knife! Somehow I managed to get the covers off. The bridge pickup miraculously survived, however the neck pickup never quite sounded the same!
bolero Posted April 30, 2010 Author Posted April 30, 2010 thx for the tips guys... I'll try this stuff called "brasso" to polish them; if that doesn't work I'll order some nickel covers & de/resolder cheers
Bluzman54 Posted May 1, 2010 Posted May 1, 2010 thx for the tips guys... I'll try this stuff called "brasso" to polish them; if that doesn't work I'll order some nickel covers & de/resolder cheers Why not just trying to buff it off with a cloth buffing wheel and a little rouge on a Dremel? Just a thought.. Jim C
Bombassa Posted May 2, 2010 Posted May 2, 2010 thx for the tips guys... I'll try this stuff called "brasso" to polish them; if that doesn't work I'll order some nickel covers & de/resolder cheers Just check the spacing of the pole screws before ordering new covers, range from 49-52,5mm.
MuDBoNe Posted May 2, 2010 Posted May 2, 2010 Funny story... As a young lad of 17 or 18 I decided I wanted the pickup covers removed from my Les Paul Custom. Being the early tinkerer I was (it's got me into trouble over the years) I decided to do it myself. Taking the pickups out of the body I noticed the solder blobs on the bottom holding the covers on. Not knowing a thing about soldering, solder wicks or solder suckers I figured "I can get this off". I searched the house for the "correct" tool and settled on... drum roll.... a kitchen knife! Somehow I managed to get the covers off. The bridge pickup miraculously survived, however the neck pickup never quite sounded the same! FWIW , I have removed a few covers. The best way I have come up with is a sharp exacto type knife. Works great and leaves a great surface to re-solder if you should choose.
GuitArtMan Posted May 2, 2010 Posted May 2, 2010 FWIW , I have removed a few covers. The best way I have come up with is a sharp exacto type knife. Works great and leaves a great surface to re-solder if you should choose. Well I studied electronics in school. Somewhere along the way I learned to use a soldering iron and de-soldering tools. I'll stick with them.
rooster Posted May 3, 2010 Posted May 3, 2010 Just a little info here. When gold plating is put on, usually there is a copper flash plate followed by a nickel plate. The gold is usually (99 times out of 100) put on over nickel. All you need to do is polish them with any kind of mild polish and the gold will come right off leaving a nickel coat. HTH. rooster.
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